Carnal
by LondonBelow
Summary: When Zach seeks relationship advice, he inadvertantly sparks a fight that may destroy Booth and Bones' partnership.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Bones, the characters in Bones, anything relating to Bones. This is written for fun, no profit is being made. Please don't sue me.

Dr. Temperence Brennan sat on the couch in her office, picking at the remnants of her lunch. She lifted a wonton with her chopsticks and bit it in half with a graceful sanguinity unique to her unsocialized self. A few moments ago Dr. Brennan hadn't been alone… sometimes she hated how disappointed Angela Montenegro looked upon leaving her office. It seemed whenever they spoke, Dr. Brennan's analysis upset Angela. Brennan always tried to provide a direct, objective analysis, and she was confident in her analyses, but it seemed that her world and Angela's were different.

Brennan finished her wonton and set down her chopsticks. Angela's world was not Brennan's. The fact became clearer every day, and although she was perfectly satisfied with their relationship, sometimes Brennan wished she understood Angela's world. The fact that she could not was poison oak between her shoulder blades.

"Dr. Brennan?"

She looked to the doorway and immediately fled her reverie. Brennan stood and wiped the grease from her lips with a paper napkin. "Zach," she acknowledged by way of greeting. A cursory examination revealed no papers in his hands; perhaps he needed her opinion on an abnormal bone marking.

"Dr. Brennan…" Zach began, and Brennan started to worry. Zach showed signs of heightened nerves—his voice was a touch too high, he had a faint odor of sweat and his left shoulder and ankle twitched, something distinctive to Zach that Brennan had observed over their years of work together. "May I ask your opinion on a matter?"

"Of course, Zach." Brennan reviewed their current remains in her mind. If Zach wanted to discuss something, it was something she had missed entirely. "Is this a work-related matter?"

Zach shook his head once. "No, Dr. Brennan."

Brennan accepted that answer with a feeling of satisfaction. She respected Zach as a scientist but, to her surprise, was uncomfortable at the thought of being surpassed by him. However, she suppressed any physical reaction to this emotion. "What is it?"

Zach inhaled deeply. Brennan's office smelled of antiseptic and, faintly, of Chinese food. "I've read that in certain circumstances, when a group of people work in close contact, it's not uncommon for specific interpersonal relationships to further develop in the perception of an individual; however, this is according to the texts not distinctively an authentic or inauthentic emotional reaction," he explained, his speech steadily growing more rapid.

As this speech progressed, Brennan began to squint. She found that this helped sharpen her senses, especially hearing, which she most needed at the moment. "You know I don't believe in psychology—"

"Yes, Dr. Brennan," Zach interrupted, further surprising her. "That's why I came to you. I know your answer will be objective and scientific."

Brennan nodded, accepting this response. "Zach," Brennan said slowly, "are you saying that you're sexually attracted to someone in the lab?"

"Yes, Dr. Brennan," Zach replied breathlessly. He blushed bright pink and focused on a spot somewhere beyond her right shoulder.

"I-is it me?" she asked.

Zach gave one firm shake of his head. "No, Dr. Brennan. N-not to imply that you aren't… it's only…" He sighed and looked her in the eyes. "You're my mentor, Dr. Brennan. And my boss. And I don't feel right thinking of you in that capacity. We're not really… not… equivalent variables."

A smile graced Brennan's features. "Zach," she said, giving her head the softest shake. She touched his shoulder. "We are equals. And as for your feelings, there is no empirical measure of emotion. Angela would say that if it feels real, it's real… is it Naomi in Paleontology?"

Zach shook his head. "It isn't Naomi," he replied.

"The only thing you can do that's fair to yourself and the other person," Brennan said, trying to give the response she imagined Angela would give, "is to tell her how you feel."

Zach nodded. "Thank you, Dr. Brennan," he said. He turned stiffly and left her office. It was good advice. He knew it was good advice. But it was good advice with one major flaw.

_to be continued!_


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Bones, the characters in Bones, anything relating to Bones. This is written for fun, no profit is being made. Please don't sue me.

Under normal circumstances, Zach would stay out of the cafeteria. He had too many bad memories of things that happened in cafeterias, mostly involving bullies and ending with himself either attending class covered in foodstuffs or being sent home to change into clean clothes. That, he decided, was one of the best things about a small town. The worst was Mrs. Ingerson telling his mother about his nasty habit of not returning to school after such an incident. Zach still didn't understand why he should be punished for—

The young man shook himself. Not a child anymore, he reminded himself, though it did little good. He clutched his Cup o' Soup nervously. Supposedly, Zach had a sharp learning curve. Why he had chosen not only to 'not-avoid' bullies but to willingly approach and engage one was fully beyond Zach. He found it worrying.

Necessary, though. Zach took a deep breath and forced himself forward. He continued putting one foot in front of the other until he reached the bully's table and sat down opposite him. "May I sit here?" Zach asked, belatedly, nervously, clutching his soup tighter. It was very hot and might burn him if spilled.

Seeley Booth looked up from his lunch. What now? He had been over everything on their case with Brennan. Dealing with Brennan meant not dealing with Zach. But, as much as Booth didn't like Zach, he knew it wasn't Christian to turn him away. Besides, if he did that Brennan would chew him out.

"Sure. Okay."

He didn't want to seem too inviting. Zach needed to understand that this was permissive, not welcome.

"Can we discuss our working relationship?" Zach asked. The words blurred out of his mouth, and he wished for what felt like the millionth time that he had more social graces, or at the very least the ability to hold a normal conversation.

The first thing to leap to Booth's mind was that they had no relationship, but he supposed having to put up with Zach counted as a form of relationship. "Sure. What about it?"

Zach took a deep breath. He hadn't spoken of this to anyone. "I'm beginning to become distinctly aware of latent but arising homosexual tendencies in my persona, will that affect our relationship?" he asked. He expected a fair amount of good-natured but nevertheless painful mocking from Hodgins and a period of adjustment with Angela. The only person Zach didn't fear was Brennan: he knew she would view him as a scientist and regard him as she always had. Booth was a wild card.

Booth's eyes widened. He sifted through the geek speak and finally decided he only needed to understand 'homosexual'. "…you mean you're gay?" he asked. That's what it sounded like to him.

Zach nodded. "I… I suspect I may be," he replied. He had feelings for men he had never had for women. That meant he was gay, right? It wasn't that Zach didn't like women. He had successful platonic relationships with women, like Angela.

"Do you like me?" Booth asked as the first order of business. This was sufficiently difficult to accept. He didn't think he could work with a boy who fond him sexually appealing.

Zach blinked, not comprehending. "You know I like you," he said. He and Booth had a relationship. They had their "guy thing". That meant the world to Zach.

Booth sighed. Damn squints. Why couldn't they behave like human beings? "Yeah but do you like like me?" he asked. Surely even squints were children.

"I don't understand. I enjoy our relationship," Zach replied. Apparently this wasn't the right thing to say: Booth's jaw tightened.

"Okay, listen," he said, "do you want to have a sexual relationship with me?"

Zach recoiled in shock. "No… that would be highly Oedipal and probably physically harmful to me."

For a moment Booth processed this, then decided to focus on the 'no'. He would sort through the rest of it later. He made a shooing motion.

Zach fled.

_to be continued!_


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Bones, the characters in Bones, anything relating to Bones. This is written for fun, no profit is being made. Please don't sue me.

The threads of Cosi Fan Tutto filled the office. It played softly, not spilling further, not infiltrating other workstations, but loudly enough to provide background noise for Temperance Brennan to work. She found the sound relaxing. Generally it kept voices from invading her focus and allowed her to completely work.

Some reflexes die hard.

_Temperance Brennan sat in a corner, legs tucked under her, with a book open across her lap. It was a familiar companion, a Grey's Anatomy she picked up at a yard sale. The pages were thin as onionskin and the ink often left grey smudges on her fingertips. Though thousands of pages long, the book was light, more spacious than heavy. Temperance found it very comforting. _

_This Temperance was not the one known in a highly reputable lab. This Temperance was fourteen years old, skinny and gangly. She had only twenty minutes of nutrition between one class and the next, twenty minutes to recover her bearings, and she spent that time rereading her favorite passages. _

_Today was particularly wretched. Temperance buried herself in the passages until she heard footsteps approach. Beads of gravel were kicked against her knees. Temperance scrambled to her feet. _

_"Do you know, like, everything?" _

_She hated that question. She found it far too vague. "That depends on how close to 'everything' you consider 'like', and whether you mean everything in general or in relation to a specific topic." _

_"Okay, whatever." Then the question came, the usual question: "Can you like write my Chem lab?" _

_Temperance shook her head. "That would be immoral. Besides, you wouldn't learn anything." She found herself almost immediately crowded closer to the wall. She clutched the book to her chest. "I won't be intimidated into—" _

_"Tempe!" Russ Brennan yanked the bully away and gave her a shove in the opposite direction. He had been held back a year. His sister had been skipped forward. He hated it when he wasn't saving her ass. "You have to be careful! I won't always be here to save you." _

A knock at the door brought Temperance from her research. She jumped and looked up. "Oh… Booth!" She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "You scared me. What's going on? Is there a break in the case?" As she fired these questions, she stood and gathered her things to leave the office.

Booth held up his hands, palms out. "Woah, easy there. You get to stay safely in your familiar… lab setting. I wanted to talk to you about…" He hesitated there, and for a moment seemed not to know what to say. "About your assistant," he explained at last.

"Zach?" Brennan asked. She sat, not taking her eyes off Booth. "What's wrong?"

"Well…" Booth took a seat on the opposite side of Brennan's desk. "Okay, first of all, what does oedipal mean? 'Cause I've looked in the dictionary and it's not there."

Brennan regarded him evenly for a moment, then said, "I'm sure it's there, Booth. You probably misspelled it. Oedipal, from Oedipus, it's spelled O-e-d-i-p-a-l—"

At this time Booth interrupted her, frustrated, "Yeah, okay. But what does it mean?"

"In Greek mythology, Oedipus slaughtered his father and married his mother. I can help you much more if you tell me the context—"

Booth shifted uncomfortably. "Well, I… I asked… I mean, Zach, he, he said it, not me," he babbled. He wanted that to be extremely clear. Sleeping with his mother? Jeez, and he thought he'd heard all possible tales or depravity. "Zach… uh, Zach, he came out to me," Booth explained, "at lunch." He glanced at Brennan: she wasn't exactly reacting. "Came out," he repeated. "That means he's gay. He told me—"

"I know what 'came out' means," Brennan replied haltingly. How would that be oedipal? "I'm not sure you should be discussing with me something Zach said in confidence," she said. She wasn't sure, but Angela was always saying Brennan couldn't keep a secret, and recently she had begun asking.

"Bones, did you hear what I said?" Booth asked. "Zach is… he's seeking a male lover."

Brennan nodded. "Yes, I understand that. I know what 'gay' means. Why are you telling me this?"

"Because, Zach, he looks up to you, and he looks up to me, so I thought working together we could direct him back on the right path."

For a moment she stared blankly, then she shook her head. "Booth, I don't think that's morally right."

"Morally?" Booth replied. His voice had risen an octave. "Since when do you have anything to say on morality?"

"Anthropologically speaking, sexual suppression has never been successful, Booth. Oscar Wilde was repeatedly expelled from schools for his preferences, it didn't turn him heterosexual. Based on historic and scientific evidence, I can only conclude that homosexuality is an innate disposition and not a choice. Given that, I can see no logical reasoning to convince Zach to conform to societal standards of what is really a very small facet of life."

"But if it's so small," Booth returned, "there's no reason he can't do it the right way. Right? Look, Bones, I'm not asking for much, just a few words from me, few words from you, and he's back on the path. He'll figure it out, right? He's a smart kid."

"Yes, Zach is a smart kid. Very smart. Probably smart enough that if he didn't care so much about you he would realize how manipulative you are," Brennan replied. Her voice broke. "I'm sorry, I don't think I can discuss this with you right now. I'd like you to leave my office."

Booth recoiled. Where had he gone wrong? She looked distraught; seeing her on the street, even a stranger, his instinct would be to comfort, but now Booth simply did not understand. Nothing he had said had been personally about her. She preferred men, that much was obvious. "Bones—"

"Leave," she repeated, "my office. Now. Please."

He took one look at her glistening eyes and left the room. Brennan sank into her chair. She wiped her eyes. The walls of her office were glass. Usually she felt informed, but now she felt on display. And it would not do to cry.

Brennan turned up her music and got to work. For the next few hours, the lab drowned in Cosí.

_to be continued!_


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Bones, the characters in Bones, anything relating to Bones. This is written for fun, no profit is being made. Please don't sue me.

Angela Montenegro knocked on Brennan's office door before walking in. She did not await permission; Brennan had no concept of personal space. Besides, even if Brennan objected to anyone coming into her office, Angela was far from _anyone_. Angela entering Brennan's office without permission was like Hodgins entering Angela's office without permission.

Angela realized a moment later how truly tragic this thought was.

"Brennan?" she asked. Brennan didn't look up from her computer. Her eyes were glazed. For a moment, Angela wondered if Brennan was asleep at her computer. She approached slowly. Her heels—sensible, but dead sexy—clacked. She rested her fingers on Brennan's shoulder. "Temperance."

Brennan started. She looked up from her computer. "What--? Oh! Angela, you surprised me." She brushed hair away from her forehead and rubbed her eyes. "Is there, does someone… need me?" Brennan asked.

"Yes." Angela nodded and met Brennan's eyes. "I do. Always. Right now you need me, though. What's going on, Brennan?"

"Nothing," Brennan replied.

Angela sighed. "Since when do you lie?" she asked. It didn't matter, since Brennan wasn't a very good liar, but why lie to Angela? "You haven't left your office all day, and you've been crying." When Brennan began to object, Angela observed, "You can't lie about crying when you wear mascara." She sighed again at Brennan's expression. "You're not going to tell me, are you?"

Brennan shook her head. "Not right now, no, but I promise that I will," she said.

Angela smiled. She hadn't changed at all, regardless of an extreme emotional state.

Ten minutes later, Angela stepped into Seeley Booth's office, walked over to his desk and settled in the opposite chair. She didn't say anything. In Angela's experience, those breasts didn't need a request for attention. Within a few moments, Booth looked up from his interminable paperwork with confusion. "Yeah. Jeffersonian ID? Hi. Can we talk?" she asked. It was clearly a simple formality. "You were the last person to talk to Brennan today, right? Yeah. Well, now you have a lot to answer for, okay?"

Booth nodded. Angry women cowed him. Of course, he usually knew what he had done to make them angry.

"What were you talking about?" Angela asked.

"Personal things," Booth replied.

"Uh-huh. You're going to tell me. Now. Okay?" People who made Angela's best friend cry endured Angela's wrath. Of course, it helped if she could set things right.

Booth sat back. "What does Oedipal mean?" he asked. Angela made her angry face, and Booth quickly explained, "I may have outed someone Brennan knows who suggested that a relationship between himself and myself would be Oedipal."

There was a moment of silence. Then, Angela asked, "Zach is gay?"

"Yes," Booth replied. "And… maybe that I suggested that together she and I can direct him back towards the light of Gd."

Angela laughed. She shook her head. "Seriously?" she asked, incredulous. "You suggested to Brennan that she act towards something she doesn't believe in?" Still, Angela found herself less upset now. She loved a piece of juicy gossip. Knowing things about people and understanding them helped Angela keep from worrying about her intellect as compared to Brennan's. "That… doesn't explain much."

"Yeah, well... I don't know. It upset her. She kicked me out of her office."

Angela sighed. "For the record, I'm angry with you. Very much," she announced. Then she left, knowing she had a lot of damage control to do.

_to be continued!_


	5. Chapter 5

Zach leaned on the rail. A plastic cup sat before him. He leaned forward. Washington, D.C…. Zach could've gone anywhere. He had more than enough college offers and scholarships, but where was there to go for someone like him? New York had its huge library, but it was far too densely populated for Zach's liking. Los Angeles was unlivable without a driver's license.

Washington, D.C. offered the Jeffersonian institute, decent public transport, and of course when Zach heard of the possibility of a position with _the_ Dr. Temperance Brennan, well! That sealed the deal. So he came to the capital of the United States of America, and things were not different. Except, of course, that this rule was inapplicable in Dr. Brennan's domain. There Zach was normal. There Zach belonged.

He had belonged, anyway, until now.

Why did things have to change? Zach whined silently to himself. He leaned further forward and suddenly the comfortable warmth of his cup was gone. Zach bit his lip as it tumbled, spilling, and finally landed on the asphalt, splattering a puddle of cocoa.

Angela leaned on the rail beside Zach. She followed his gaze to the splashed drink on the ground. "Wow. Gravity makes some really pretty patterns," she remarked, then glanced at Zach. He didn't react. "Brennan know you're out here?" she asked.

"Yeah," Zach murmured. He had never been a good liar. This particular falsehood brought a blush to his cheeks.

Angela nodded. She wished in that moment for nothing more than she wished for a cigarette. "So if Booth is your dad, does that make Brennan Mommy?" she blurted.

That won his attention. Zach stared for a moment, his mouth flapping pathetically, then finally he asked, shying away, "Does… everyone know about that?"

She nodded once more. "Everyone." Brennan had mentioned it to Hodgins, who relayed the information to Cam. Later he attempted to tell Angela and they finished the story together.

Zach bit his lip. "Does… Dr. Hodgins know?" he asked.

"Jack knows."

He paled. "Dr. Saroyan?" Zach asked, silently begging Angela to say she had no idea.

Angela only confirmed what she knew: "Everyone."

Zach groaned. He turned away and stared at the spilled cocoa. It _was_ pretty, he supposed—geometrically fascinating.

Angela leaned on the rail beside him and rubbed Zach's shoulder gently. She hadn't thought he would be so upset. "So what am I?" she asked.

Knowing there was no way out of this, Zach replied, "You're the big sister."

Angela smiled. She liked that analysis—occasionally protective, good for advice, but just plain sexy. For someone with sum zero social skills, Zach showed amazing perception. "And Hodgins?"

"Brother-in-law."

Well, at least he wasn't the brother. Considering that, Angela might have had difficulty doing girlfriend-and-boyfriend things that evening. "Cam?"

"Dr. Saroyan is a distant but very beloved aunt," Zach replied obediently. He had learned a few things about behavior in his childhood, and it had been strongly drummed into him that _if you can't behave normally, the least you can be is polite._ "Please don't repeat this to anyone."

Angela turned. She rested her back against the rail, propping herself up on her elbows. Tilting her head upwards, she saw that it was close to rain. "So why did you mention it to Booth?" she asked. Zach blushed. Angela punched his shoulder playfully. "Hey—I didn't tease you about the family thing. I won't tease you about this."

Zach faced Angela with an unfamiliar pinched look on his face. "You have a funny way of being nice," he said in as sharp a tone she had ever heard him employ.

_to be continued!_


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: It's not mine. This is only a bit of fun. Please don't sue me… pretty please?

Zach leaned against the window, letting his cheek dampen from condensation. It was early morning. Clouds masked the sky in a deep grey and the roads bore puddles of the previous evening's shower. Noting this, Zach moved away from the window and wrapped his fingers around his seatbelt. Hodgins like to drive fast, even after the rain.

"Why don't you like Angela?"

Zach turned to Hodgins and stared. He tried to think of any words to say, but his mind was filled with the soft buzz of thoughts running to fast for Zach to understand them. The briefest glance of Zach's expression, only a split second between periods of road-watching, and it took every ounce of Jack Hodgins' self-control not to smile.

At last, Zach managed, "I do like Angela." He sank back into his seat. "Angela's nice."

"Yes, she is," Hodgins replied, "so why don't you like her?" She probably had some flaw he overlooked, some dumb squint thing like splitting her infinitives. The oxymoron made Hodgins happy—dumb squint. He liked that. Zach tended to be overly focused on details.

Zach thought for a moment. His shoulders curled inward and his mouth opened slightly, motions he was not conscious of and likely would have remedied had he noticed them. His eyes crossed, focused on a distant point. At last he leaned back and said, "I like Angela."

"No you--Zach!" Hodgins cried. He stopped at a red light and turned to Zach. "No you _don't_ like Angela, and you're not a good liar. Why don't you just tell me? Don't you think things will be strange when she's living with me and we're all carpooling?" Zach's face at this pronouncement was priceless. Hodgins' capacity for anger with him vanished. He looked back to the road. A part of him wanted to push the matter, insist that the least Zach could do was give a response towards something Angela could speak to him about (this was largely her idea), but he was afraid he'd made Zach cry.

The light changed and Hodgins accelerated too quickly. He had gone two blocks without a word from Zach when Hodgins admitted, "You know, I think of you like a little brother." At a scuffling noise, Hodgins turned away from the roads to see Zach pressing himself against the door. "What?"

"My older brothers used to hold me down and beat me when they were bored. Or put frogs in my bed. Or tabasco in my chocolate milk. I was ten," Zach added sadly. "I never had chocolate milk again."

"How about the big brother who beats up the other big brothers who try to put frogs in your bed and tabasco in your chocolate milk?" Hodgins suggested. Zach smiled shyly, feeling warm in a very pleasant way. Then Hodgins continued, "And I can help you talk to girls. Boys--sorry!" he amended quickly. "Zach... I'm sorry." Zach didn't reply. Hodgins quickly crossed two lanes and left tracks of rubber on the road. A chorus of horns responded, and Hodgins stuck up a very rude finger out the window.

"Zach, should I turn around?" Hodgins asked. He didn't turn to look in case Zach really was crying, as Hodgins feared he was, and didn't want to be seen that way.

Zach blinked in surprise. "W-why would you do that?"

"Because most people think it's weird to cry at work," Hodgins supplied.

"I'm not crying."

"I don't care, you know," Hodgins told him. "I've known a while, anyway." Off Zach's surprised look, Hodgins explained, grinning, "Zach, you don't get to come out to everyone. You don't have to tell everyone you're a socially inept geek, do you?" he asked. It was quite obvious, in his eyes and in the eyes of others. And how had Zach not noticed? Hodgins had given him _Goodbye Yellow Brick Road_ and the autobiography of that thick gay actor for his last birthday. "Will you be all right at work?"

"Yes. Of course. I love work."

Hodgins put the car into gear, pulled dangerously into the road and sped towards the Jeffersonian. "And if Booth says anything, I'll stick a pregnant mygalomorphae theraphosoidea theraphosidae in his gym bag."

_to be continued_


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Bones and all recognizeable characters and locations belong to someone else. Not me. No profit is being made. Please don't sue me.

Zach had never thought before about what he would do if he did not like his work. He had never needed to consider it—at first because he knew logically that employment was necessary, later because he did enjoyed his work. He loved the Jeffersonian. Dr. Brennan was an incredible boss; she respected him and, most importantly, didn't care about his personal life. In fact, Cam and Hodgins were the same and based on job descriptions he considered them bosses, Cam more obviously than Hodgins but nevertheless.

Now Zach did not like his work, but he was so accustomed to being content at the Jeffersonian, it hurt to come into work and feel out of place. While he worked he felt eyes on him, but he turned and there was no one there. When Hodgins handed him a bone, Zach couldn't help but analyze their brief exchange, and wonder if Hodgins had looked a little too long, and what that meant.

These were the only people he had ever felt comfortable with, and now he felt completely the opposite. Every time they looked at him he felt stung. It hurt. Worse, it crippled his concentration.

His lunch break was more than a relief. The slightly lumpy macaroni and cheese in the cafeteria was as good as ever; Zach was almost surprised. Everything had changed. This hadn't. The cafeteria was like the only steady point in an otherwise spinning world. Zach settled at his usual table in the corner and concentrated on the macaroni and cheese.

"Hey, Zach, can we talk?"

As Zach raised his eyes, Booth pulled over an empty chair and sat. Zach winced at the sound of metal grating across linoleum. "I thought you weren't speaking to me," he said.

"Well, why would you think that?" Booth asked.

Zach bit his lower lip. Though Booth spoke kind words, his face suggested displeasure and disgust. Zach was quite certain of this; he had a photographic memory and knew Booth did not look that way when happy. Answering the question literally, Zach explained, "Because you haven't spoken to me."

Booth scoffed dismissively. "Well, you know, we're both busy guys. We've both been working, haven't had a chance to talk."

"I… don't trust you," Zach said slowly, instinctively drawing away. "It doesn't follow your patterns of behavior."

"Woah! Zach! Are you analyzing my behavior?" Booth asked, pretending to be shocked.

Zach shook his head. "No…" From his tone it was clear that he had taken this inquiry seriously. "It's not logical. You have never shown any interest in me before and have no reason to change your behavior now. Except what I told you, and you've already altered your behavior to accommodate that knowledge."

Booth sighed. "It's because of what you told me, Zach," he admitted. "And I'm worried about you."

Again Zach recognized Booth's expression. He wasn't lying, which made Zach very uncomfortable. "You told Angela that I was going to hell."

"That… those weren't my exact words."

"But you do think I'm going to hell."

"Well…"

Zach squinted in concentration. "If you believe I'm going to hell, in your dogma doesn't that make me beyond help?"

"It's not dogma, Zach," Booth snapped, "okay? And it wouldn't hurt you to look at, either. You could be happy."

"Hey!"

Both men looked toward the noise; Hodgins and Angela were making their way over, both smiling very forcedly. Hodgins set his tray on the table; Angela wasn't carrying a tray but, Zach surmised from the contents, probably sharing Hodgins'. "Mind if we join you?"

"Actually, I was just leaving," Zach said, starting to stand.

"Sit," Hodgins replied. "Why don't you just stay with us?"

Zach bit his lip. He had that slightly constipated look he always adopted when he didn't understand what was going on around him. "You're not asking because you want my company, are you?"

"Yes and no, sweetie," Angela replied, smiling to reassure him.

Understanding, Booth pushed his chair back and stood, hands raised in a gesture of peace. "You know what, this really isn't necessary. I was just leaving—really. I was. Zach, if you want to talk more about, uh, what we discussed—"

Hodgins took a quick step forward, intentionally too close to Booth for comfort. "He doesn't," he said.

"It's his choice, Hodgins."

"Really?" Hodgins asked. This was his version of satire, this mocking rhetoric. "Did he ask you to sit down? Did you even ask permission?" As he asked, he shifted closer. "Or did you assume that certain people and certain beliefs are welcome everywhere?"

Booth was not intimidated, not physically or mentally. Had he realized that Hodgins was making a veiled reference to the Christian history of conquer, he might have been offended, but Booth did not realize this and managed to reply in a low, even tone, "It's not your business, Hodgins."

Angela sighed. Men! Yes, she was deeply in love with this one, but testosterone made him do stupid things sometimes. She laid a hand on his shoulder. "Jack. Don't."

"What did you say to him?" Hogins asked.

"We were just talking about Booth's belief that I'm going to hell," Zach supplied, matter-of-fact as always. When the others turned to glare at him, he winced. "Is that something I shouldn't have said?"

Hodgins turned around and slugged Booth in the jaw. It wasn't the strongest of moves; Booth was clearly physically superior. But Hodgins was angry. He wasn't thinking about logic. He was reacting to someone intimidating Zach and fighting back because Zach didn't know how.

"Hodgins!" Angela cried. He should have been smarter than that. He should have been above that.

Booth reeled. He had not expected that. He rubbed his jaw, stared at Hodgins, then punched him.

"Booth!"

Hodgins groaned. He responded, though clearly outmatched, and within seconds the two were grappling despite Angela's protests. She sighed, grabbed the tray and pushed the food off of it.

"It's high school all over again," Angela murmured. "Booth, let him go. That's enough, boys."

They ignored her.

Booth grabbed Hodgins and slammed his fist into Hodgins' gut.

Angela broke the lunch tray over Booth's head.

_to be continued_

_Sorry for taking so long with this chapter; next one shouldn't take nearly as long! (About a week, probably)_


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Bones and all recognizeable characters and locations belong to someone else. Not me. No profit is being made. Please don't sue me.

"Okay, people," Cam said, giving them a very miffed looked, "I want an explanation and I want it now." Nearly her entire team sat before her. Booth held a handful of napkins to his head and a bunch of bloody napkins were on the table, but Cam was unworried; the napkins at his head were slowly absorbing blood, the wound was probably mostly healed. If a head wound only bled through two handfuls of napkins it was nothing to worry about. A few feet away Angela held a little tub of ice cream to Hodgins' cheek over a blossoming bruise. She was fussing over him, but they both seemed perfectly happy. Zach sat in the corner, all color drained from his face, crying silently.

When no one spoke, Cam raised an eyebrow. "Now!" she repeated. This was why she had become a coroner, not a kindergarten teacher. She expected her scientists to behave like grown-ups.

Angela sighed. "It doesn't matter," she said, trying to diffuse the situation.

"Yes, it does. And don't be dismissive like you weren't involved."

Cam knew as soon as she had said it that she shouldn't have, but at least she accomplished something­—being short with Angela got a response from Hodgins. "It's not her fault. I hit Booth, so he was beating the crap out of me!"

Cam nodded. "Yes. That completely makes sense. Why did you hit Booth?" she asked. Hodgins and Angela exchanged glances. "People, I need answers. This is not the image the Jeffersonian wants, or the FBI."

"Because he was trying to intimidate Zach, and that bothers me," Hodgins replied. "What Zach does on his own time is his own business, actually if it's anyone's business it's mine as long as he's living on my property—"

Zach's attention sharpened. "Does that mean I have to move?" he asked.

Hodgins gave him an incredulous look. "No, Zach. It's your personal life, I don't care."

"But you care when Booth is involved…"

"I care when someone—we'll talk about this later, okay?"

Cam agreed, "For now I'd love if we could get to the point, guys."

Zach nodded. He managed to meet Cam's eyes, but she found herself unable to do the same. Zach was looking directly at her and speaking almost completely normally while crying. It unnerved her. "Booth believes I am going to hell. Apparently Hodgins disagrees."

"Of course I—!"

"Sweetie," Angela said. Enough hyper-masculine nonsense; eventually they all needed to return to work. She turned to Cam. "A few days ago, Zach came out to Booth."

"Zach's…?"

Angela nodded. "Yes. And since then, Booth has been trying to convince everyone to convince Zach to act straight, or something, and it's… it's just a big mess."

"Okay," Cam said. She nodded. "I can't believe I have to say this, but your personal lives are not business. Obviously. Don't bring them to work, ever; don't have lunch over hook-ups, don't proselytize, don't… do any of that. This is a working environment." She gave them all a hard look, meanwhile examining their injuries. "Go back to work."

Angela, Booth and Hodgins left, but Zach didn't move. He stared at the floor, his mouth slightly open, looking… well. Let's just say the way he looked no one would have thought him to be a genius. "Zach," Cam prompted.

He looked up. After a moment, he recognized the situation and himself and what he had wanted to say. "Am I fired?"

"Oh! Woah. Um… no," Cam replied. "You're not fired."

"But Angela told you that I'm gay," Zach reminded her, shifting his shoulders, clearly uncomfortable discussing it.

As she usually did when faced with a situation that made sense but was plain weird, Cam began pausing between words, sound like she was searching or mentally debating speaking at all. "I don't care, Zach. Besides, I can't fire you for that, it would be illegal."

"I-it would?" Zach asked.

Cam nodded. "Yes. In a way that would completely destroy my career. And like I said, I don't care. You're—Dr. Brennan!"

"I'm Dr. Brennan?" Zach repeated, not understanding at all. Then he looked around. Cam had been greeting Dr. Brennan, not addressing Zach.

Brennan started to greet Cam, then stepped over to Zach and tilted his hand, saying, "Zach, you're bleeding. What happened?"

Zach allowed his boss to maul his head. He waited until she had finished to explain, "It's not my blood, Dr. Brennan. Most of it is Hodgins'… some of it is Agent Booth's."

"You hit Booth?" Brennan asked. "That was inadvisable, Zach. Did he hurt you?" To Cam, this seemed insulting, but it was perfectly logical to Zach and Brennan. Booth could tear Zach limb from limb and not break a sweat.

Zach shook his head. "Actually, Dr. Brennan, it was Hodgins who hit Booth. He was very upset. Then Booth hit Hodgins, and Angela hit Booth with a lunch tray."

Brennan looked from Zach to Cam. Cam nodded. "It was very high school," she said. "Dr. Brennan, I needed to see you about a case--"

As though she were thinking of work! Brennan shook her head. "Wait, I need more information, at least enough to know if Booth and Hodgins can reasonably work together on a new case. If I need to keep them separate until they're less angry, I need to know in advance, to plan—"

"Actually you need to keep Booth separate from me," Zach said, wincing. He looked away, glanced at Brennan, then looked away again. "Booth wanted to talk to me about going to hell. I recognize that from him this is a gesture of kindness though that is not how I perceive it. Nor Hodgins, apparently, because when I told him this he hit Booth." Zach looked from Brennan to Cam and back, then asked, "Are you sure you want me here?"

Brennan was practically shaking in disbelief. "Dr. Saroyan," she began in a definitive tone, "I don't know that I can work with him."

Zach sighed. "I'm sorry, Dr. Brennan."

"Not you," Brennan said. "Booth."

"Booth?" Cam repeated in disbelief.

"Yes. I'm not comfortable working with him. I'd like to be assigned to another agent."

_to be continued_

_Every time I start a chapter I think, "Almost to the end of the story," yet I feel like the more I write the more I have left!_

_Reviews are always appreciated... pretty please?_


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